UN member states have agreed on an agreement to protect the high seas after 15 years of intense negotiations and 40 hours of debate, Greenpeace said..

According to the organization, one of the main issues was the boundaries of protected areas. According to the decision, by 2030, 30% of the seas will be classified as protected areas, the purpose of which is to preserve and restore marine nature.. At the same time, about 10% of the world's oceans are under protection..

The agreement also establishes a procedure for checking economic projects, expeditions and other activities in the seas for their environmental friendliness..

As part of a long-term discussion, China and Russia insisted that the question of which parts of the high seas would be designated as protected areas in the future be unanimous.. Then one country could block every decision. However, according to the consensus decision, protected areas will determine the decisions of the majority - three-quarters of the UN member states.

Another key conflict revolved around potentially lucrative research on marine genetic resources.. In this issue, the countries of the so-called Global South fought, first of all, with the leading industrialized countries of the North.. Since the largest economies are likely to receive most of the expected revenues, a mechanism for compensating poorer countries has been created.. According to the dpa news agency, the compromise reached involves annual lump-sum payments by industrialized countries..

Now the agreement must be translated into the six official languages \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bof the UN and ratified by member countries of the organization..

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Negotiations to protect 30% of the oceans were launched back in 2016 after the proposal of the World Conservation Congress, and the idea itself was put forward back in 2002. December 2022. this goal was formalized in the agreements following the conference of the parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.